A conventional screw hook 100, shown in FIG.1, is essentially a hook with a screw attached to the hook. Screw hooks 100 are used widely for anchoring a support point to a wall or ceiling in order to hang any number of objects from the hook portion 110 of the screw hook 100. The hook portion 110 allows one the convenience of hanging and unhanging objects without having to unanchor the screw hook 100 from the wall or ceiling. This convenience has led to the wide use of screw hooks 100 in many applications including, for example, hanging plants, Christmas lights, and television cable.
The screw hook 100 of FIG. 1 comprises a threaded (shank) portion 105 and the hook portion 110. The hook portion 110 is further defined by two straight runs 120 and 121 coupled by a curved run 122. The first straight run 120 forms a first member of the hook portion 110 which is attached to a bend point 140 of the shank portion 105 and the second straight run 121 forms the tip 141 of the hook portion 110 such that an opening 130 is formed. The opening 130 allows an object, such as a hanging wire or rope, to be inserted. Typically, the two straight runs 120 and 121 are parallel to each other.
When anchoring the screw hook 100 to a wall or ceiling, rotational torque is applied to the screw hook 100 such that the threaded shank 105 engages the wall or ceiling. That is, the screw hook 100 is screwed into the wall. In some cases, a human hand can provide enough rotational torque to engage the threads with the wall. However, this is not always the case and a tool is typically required to increase the amount of rotational torque able to be applied to the screw hook 100. Further, a tool is also required if the location that the screw hook 100 will be installed is not accessible (too high, for example) by a human.
One such tool used in the past is a pair of pliers (not shown). Pliers can secure the screw hook 100 in its fingers in order to provide more rotational torque to the screw hook 100. This tool, however, is only able to rotate as far as the human hand can rotate in one motion before the fingers must release the screw hook 100 and then engage it again before being able to rotate the screw hook 100 again. It is often the case that one rotational motion of the human hand is not enough for the screw hook's threads 105 to engage the surface enough to support its own weight. As such, the screw hook 100 falls out when the fingers of the pliers are released. Furthermore, pliers require one to be in close proximity to the location that the screw hook 100 is being installed. Therefore, pliers are not a viable solution when the location to install the screw hook 100 is a high ceiling.
Another tool that may be used to assist in installing a screw hook 100 is a scalloped interior socket tool (also not shown), such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,090, filed on Apr. 16, 1996 to Marks and assigned to WorkTools, Inc. of Chatsworth, Calif. Using this socket, fingers inside the socket retract to form a “pocket” around an object. In this fashion, any shape of object can be engaged and rotational torque can be applied.
The retractable fingers, however, are biased outward. As such, when trying to anchor a screw hook 100, one must hold the screw hook 100 in the socket when installing. Otherwise the retractable fingers, being biased outward will push the screw hook 100 out of the socket before one can position the screw hook shank 105 against the wall. This will not work for situations when the screw hook 100 must be anchored on a high ceiling where one cannot hold the screw hook 100 in place until the shank's threads 105 engage the ceiling.
Furthermore, because the retractable fingers are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the screw hook shank 105, the screw hook 100 may rotate away from the longitudinal axis of the socket. That is, the socket does not apply a force to the hook portion 110 in order to keep the screw hook shank 105 from rotating one way or another. As a result, the socket is not capable of maintaining the longitudinal axis of the shank 105 in alignment with its own longitudinal axis before the shank 105 engages the wall or ceiling.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a tool that applies the proper forces to the hook portion 110 of the screw hook 100 in order to maintain parallel longitudinal axes of rotation (both the shank and the tool) while a screw hook 100 is being anchored.